Haven Under Siege
by Invader Krag
Summary: When an unidentified madman with "good intentions" takes control of Haven, Artemis and Butler are brought in to help liberate the faries from disaster...
1. Default Chapter

Well, this is my first Artemis fic on Fanfiction.Net, and…I really don't have anything to say. Heh. I'll write more if you like it enough.  
  
  
  
1 Chapter One  
  
"Alright, Julius, don't lose it now!"  
  
"Why do I have to keep telling you! The Iris-cam doesn't hurt, it just startles me, that's all!…and don't call me Julius, civilian!"  
  
Foaly chuckled silently. He loved playing games with the commander, and he didn't worry about his being fired, either. After the loss of Koboi, Commander Root didn't have anyone else to replace Foaly with.  
  
"Sure, commander…"  
  
"You got a visual on this car yet?" Foaly sighed, watching a map right beside the monitor.  
  
"No. It's like this guy knows exactly how far away he needs to be to not be seen."  
  
"Plus, the car is lined with lead. Not even our x-ray filters can get through that. You should know about that, considering the fact that you built them…"  
  
Foaly pretended he didn't hear the last remark. "Any license plate number?"  
  
"Negative."  
  
"It's odd. How does the Mud Man know so much? If I didn't know any better, I'd say - "  
  
A popping sound came through Foaly's speakers, interrupting him.  
  
"Don't even go there, centaur." Foaly smiled.  
  
"Captain Short, how did you get this frequency?" Root demanded.  
  
"Simple. Saw it on the computer in ops." Foaly interjected before the commander could say anything.  
  
"Hmm. I should know better. I was hoping for something more scientific…but this is Holly we're talking about."  
  
"Hey, stop talking about me like I'm not here!"  
  
"I hope that was directed towards the civilian, Captain." Root said, an audible edge to his voice. Holly shut up. After a long pause, Foaly spoke.  
  
"As I was saying, If I didn't know any better, I'd say that Artemis Fowl had something to do with this. Of course, judging by the growling on the line, I believe Captain Short disagrees." Foaly leaned back in his chair, still smiling.  
  
"Do I have permission to speak, commander?"  
  
"Well, you didn't have permission to connect to this frequency, but I appreciate your input. Go ahead."  
  
"Sir, you know how much Artemis and Butler helped us before. If it wasn't for them, Haven would be completely controlled by a madman with a melting face. Why would they bother to help us if they were going to plot against us in the long run?"  
  
"Simple. It benefited him. We scratched his back, he scratched ours." Root said calmly.  
  
"And another thing. If it wasn't for us, he would be dead. He owes us."  
  
"Perhaps. However, I have never known Artemis Fowl to be a moral person. And he's a teenager. Mud Man teenagers' minds change quite quickly." At this point, Foaly interrupted once again.  
  
"Sir, I also believe that it was not Artemis. This does not seem like his style. Artemis would want everyone to, basically, bring him the gold, not barge straight into Haven and steal it. No, I think we weren't the only ones being infiltrated recently."  
  
"What do you mean, civilian?"  
  
"I think that maybe someone stole one of his copies of the Book, and/or his notes on the fairy civilization." There was a pause.  
  
"That could very well be. We can't know unless we have more information. Holly, if you would be so kind as to - "  
  
"I've got a visual! This guy must not be as slippery as we thought him to be." Foaly clapped his hands. A limousine was on the view screen, and he could also see members of the LEPrecon, hovering close by. "What, no shields?" Foaly said, noticing that the shield filter of Root's helmet was not turned on.  
  
"It's a country area. Waste of magic if there's no one here to see you in the first place." Holly said promptly. Root didn't even try to tell her to get off this time, because his attention, and the attention of his LEP comrades, were diverted elsewhere. Foaly suddenly noticed as well. The car was speeding up, and they were coming up on a city.  
  
"Shields up!" Root yelled. They did so, but in order to keep their bodies streamlined so as to keep up with the car, they didn't have time to turn on their anti-shield filters.  
  
Bad mistake.  
  
The car raced into the city, and promptly disappeared.  
  
"WHAT?" Foaly yelled. "Jul – er – Commander, get your anti-shield filters on NOW!"  
  
As prompt as his suggestion was, the stunned LEPrecon members didn't quite get it up in time. By the time they had switched it on, the car was nowhere in sight. However, the tracking beacon was right underneath them.  
  
"D'Arvit!" Root shouted.  
  
"What the heck was that?" Holly yelled, instinctively pulling out her Neutrino 2000. Foaly activated the zoom in Root's Iris-cam, and looked down. There, next to a fire hydrant, was the tracking beacon.  
  
"D'Arvit!!" Root shouted again. He swooped down and grabbed it, then returned to the rest of the recon group. "How do you think they did it? You can't shield a whole car, can you, Foaly?"  
  
In light of the situation, Foaly didn't bother to point out the fact that he was showing respect for his tech skills, and just answered the question. "No. No way at all. Unless it really IS Artemis behind this. He's probably the only Mud Man with the technological know-how to do something like that, but it's highly unlikely. I mean, not even I can do that!" Root snorted. Suddenly, Foaly noticed something on his computer.  
  
"You know what? I wasn't tracking this frequency before, or else I would have known that Holly was listening in, but it looks as if we might have someone else listening in as well."  
  
"Right you are, Foaly." Said Artemis Fowl. 


	2. Chapter Two

There was a stunned silence on the line. Artemis slowly chuckled, poking fun at their stupefaction. Commander Root regained his composure the quickest, and you could almost hear him turning red as he spoke.  
  
"Mud man! How on Earth did you get a hold of this frequency??"  
  
Artemis chuckled once more. "Mud Man is it? Have I gained your respect in some odd way?"  
  
"If you have, Mud Man, you're quickly running out of it. Explain yourself."  
  
"Well, I was actually going to contact you some other way, but this was just so irresistible…as I'm sure Captain Short can tell you." There was an audible snort on the frequency, but it was ignored. Artemis' voice turned grim. "I was actually going to forewarn you, but from the sound of the dialogue that took place, I can see that I'm already too late."  
  
"What do you mean? Was I right? Did someone steal your copy of the Book?" Foaly asked eagerly.  
  
"Well…it wasn't my copy."  
  
"You mean another fairy gave their book to the Mud Men?" Holly exclaimed.  
  
"Technically." Said Artemis. "But I have not found out who she is…yet."  
  
"How, may I ask, did you come by this information? And what do you mean, technically??" Root demanded.  
  
"I received this information from the fairy herself, Commander. She is presently at Fowl Manor, with me."  
  
"WHAT?" Foaly, Holly and Commander Root exclaimed.  
  
"It's true. If you should like to come and question her, I give you permission to enter my house, just once. You may have more luck that I did, being fairies yourselves."  
  
"That may be true, Fowl. I shall come personally."  
  
"Maybe Captain Short should come as well. She may be even more useful, being of the same race and gender." Foaly suggested. Root thought for a moment.  
  
"Yes. Captain Short will come as well. Now let's get off this frequency, I hate not being able to see the person I'm talking to…"  
  
Artemis took off his headset, and closed the connection to the secure frequency. Butler chuckled as he leaned against the wall.  
  
"You sure surprised them," he said. Artemis couldn't help a sly smile, before it turned into a doubtful frown.  
  
"I surely hope that this does not drag me into any more fairy affairs. I suppose that they will become suspicious as to how I came into possession of the little tramp, but past friendships will hopefully remind them of the…er…truthfulness of Artemis Fowl." Artemis rose from his chair. "Do me a favor, Butler, and write that frequency down. I may need to use it one day. And fetch the truth serum. I want to make sure that if the fairies can't get anything out of the little whelp, that I can."  
  
Butler didn't care to mention that the fairy was probably countless years older than him, not wanting to invoke his wrath. He was only 16, but he was not to be messed with. His temper had risen over the years, as well as his cunning. Even so, he was still the same old Artemis. Butler wrote down the frequency, and followed Artemis out the door.  
  
Artemis led Butler down into the stone basement, and stopped at a large wooden door. He opened it, and led the way inside. Juliet was already inside, standing guard.  
  
The fairy was a wreck. She lay sprawled on the bed provided for her, her chest heaving with violent sobs. She was covered in bruises, and had a large gash on her forehead. Juliet looked haggard as well, having stood guard for hours while the fairy went on with her tearful fits, and was all too happy when Artemis and Butler walked in.  
  
"It's about time you got back! She's been moaning and groaning for hours, and I've had to stand here and listen. I can't believe I'm missing wrestling for this…" She stared expectantly at Artemis until he nodded for her to leave. He walked over to the bed and knelt next to the fairy. Butler got around the other side.  
  
"Fairy. What is your name?" He asked.  
  
"I'd never tell a Mud Boy like you, you…you…" She proceeded to explode in another fit of sobs. Artemis grabbed her shoulder and shook it violently, trying to get her to stop.  
  
"You obviously don't have all of your memory back yet, or after your extensive physical trauma you have lost bits and pieces of it." The fairy looked at her body, as if noticing the wounds for the first time.  
  
"That's not extensive…"  
  
"Your magic has been healing you for quite some time." She looked at the floor, ashamed for forgetting something so basic. "Like I said, you probably don't remember why you came here in the first place. Allow me to introduce myself." He stood. "The inimitable Artemis Fowl, at your service."  
  
"W-What? You're Artemis Fowl?"  
  
"Yes. And this is Butler. And while we're doing formal introductions, how about you?" she stared. "…your name, fairy. Who are you?" she shook her head.  
  
"How do I know you're really Artemis Fowl?"  
  
"Because I said so."  
  
Commander Root and Captain Short walked in, escorted by Juliet. She looked annoyed. "They came in just as I was going to go watch wrestling…" she said, exiting the room for the second time.  
  
"We left from our pursuit of the car and came straight over. Where is sh – oh, for heaven's sake." Said Root, as his eyes turned to face the weeping fairy. "Did you find out who she is yet?"  
  
"No. She still wasn't convinced that I was really Artemis when you came in. Have a go with her. I'll…watch." Said Artemis, frowning. Root walked over and began to try and talk her out of her pathetic weeping. Commander Short hung back for a moment to talk to Artemis.  
  
"What happened?"  
  
"She came in the middle of the night. Trust me, she looked worse than she does now. In her crying fits, she mumbled something about giving away her book, and eternal shame, and all that."  
  
"If she had just given her book, how did they have enough time to decode it?"  
  
"Maybe they held her for a while, and she just recently escaped? In any case, we shall find out soon." Butler showed her the truth serum. She nodded.  
  
"Hmm. Well, you'll be happy to know that we're not going to mind-wipe you. It's better to have an informed ally than an uninformed one."  
  
"Yes. Definitely." There was an awkward pause. Root finished with the fairy, and let loose an exasperated sigh.  
  
"Well, her name's Delaney, for all that's worth. Have a go, Captain." Root said. He looked over at Artemis. "This isn't my forte, all this psychological hoodoo." Butler nodded in agreement. Artemis walked over to Holly and Delaney, and listened.  
  
"What do you remember?"  
  
"N-nothing."  
  
"Are you sure, or are you just being difficult? No one believes that it's your fault the book was taken from you. Do you remember anything about your captors?"  
  
"They were h-hidden. There was - " at this point she let out an uncontrollably shaky breath, "There was a Mud Man, hidden deep in the sh - shadows. I didn't see anything. They kept m-me in a room for d-ddays…so tired, nowhere peaceful to sleep, only the chair I was tied to…I escaped, and…came to Fowl Manor…closest safe place…so tired…must…" She collapsed on the bed, finally resting.  
  
"Good job, Captain. I suggest you take her back to Haven for some rest." Root walked over, and talked for her.  
  
"Will do, Fowl. Come on, Captain, let's go." He walked towards the door, and waited for the Captain, who was staring at Artemis. He stared back.  
  
"What?" he said.  
  
"Nothing. Mud Men grow so quickly." She said, and followed Commander Root out of the room, carrying Delaney over her shoulder. 


End file.
